Bigger than a Mailbox!

So ... I ever so casually went to get the mail this afternoon. I have to walk/drive to a box that is down the street and around the corner. If I have a package larger than my teeny-weeny mailbox, then there will be a key in there to a larger box. Today there was a key. I just knew what it was.

I was right.
My free GiveAway from Jodi arrived today full of who-knows-what from Spring Quilt Market in Portland, OR. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. What could she possibly have sent me?

Tissue! I really like tissue. I use it all the time. So ... I am even saving the tissue.

Everything was in a plastic bag, which only prolonged my excitement. When the heck would I get to see my stuff?!

Oh, how it was worth the wait.

I opened it all up and then divided it into categories ... like candy on Halloween ... only much more practical and less fattening. First: A boat -load of reading material including a magazine and several catalogs. I love magazines and catalogs!

Next: A myriad of samples from tissues to a quilted nail file. I told you I love tissue!

Oooooohhhh .... fabric. Luscious, delicious, magical ... fabric! (And a little hot pad from Moda.)

Last, but not least: Candy ... just like Halloween. Some of it is still left. I won't tell you how much.

Oh yes and this card (made into a pin.) I feel so naughty already what with all the drooling and the candy eating and such. Mostly ... I feel grateful. Thank you Jodi. You made me feel like I went to Spring Market. I'm just sorry that I didn't get to go and meet you there.

So ... let's be honest ... how jealous are the rest of you?

Ummm ... Tasty!

So ... you may be wondering why I am showing this ... uncharacteristically brown quilt ... in the middle of Spring. Oh ... there's a reason all right and it has nothing to do with lowering the triple digit temperatures around here. ( Which are going to be in the 70s by tomorrow, btw.)

No, I am showing off this little number (made about a year and a half ago in a "Jo's Little Women" class ... so much fun, but ... I digress) because I was looking for something on a quilt that resembled ...

... a crow. Yes, folks you are looking at my diet for today. Crow ... eating crow ... lots of ... crow.

You see, over the weekend I visited this charming blog and entered a lovely giveway. Truth be told, I enter a lot of these things, and having never actually won in the past, (and in the midst of finishing "the samples") I totally forgot about this. I also have two different email addresses and don't always check the one connected with my blog.

And let's not overlook the fact that I'm an idiot.

Because, guess what!? I won! Yes, I won the giveway ... on Monday. Today is Thursday and lovely Jodi tracked me down because she is apparently quite tenacious ... and forgiving.

Thank you Jodi. I am grateful. I am excited.

And I am, most definitely ... humble. Do you think if I ate some humble pie, it might taste a little better than crow?

Happy Boo-Day to You!!

So ... every Halloween I do the same lame thing for my children who ... I may have previously mentioned ... do not live close to me. I send them an email with a secret riddle (oh yes ... the same secret riddle year after year after year) and tempt them to answer it. I offer a prize to the first one, and that prize is usually my leftover candy which no one is particularly jumping up and down to receive, so ... it saves me alot of postage. (Also ... why bother to mail it when most of it is still here when they come at Thanksgiving or Christmas.)

This year I am hoping to lure them with my blog instead of an email. I am hoping they will be so excited to answer it that they will arrive on my doorstep (in costume of course) and tell me the answer in person while I dole out candy into their Halloween bucket and/or pillow case ... once again saving me postage.

So ... the infamous riddle is this:

What did the butcher say when he handed the customer the empty frankfurter?

For the rest of you out there in bloggo-land, feel free to answer also. If you are not going to come to my doorstep to retrieve your prize, the least you can do is tell me what your costume would be, so I can anticipate your arrival ... in my head. (As I have previously explained, there are alot of conversations going on in there that do not neccessarily involve other human beings.)That costume instruction goes double for you ... offspring. Just throw me a bone, here.

Happy Halloween to One and All! Now, please excuse me while I open the big bag of candy from Costco and test it out for you ... it's really the right thing to do.

It's a mystery to me . . .

Editor's Note:  I cannot apologize enough for the very unfortunate placement of my charming pitcher of flowers in the above picture.  The title of the book would be "Password to Larkspur Lane".  It is not the belief of this author or any of her family members or even passing acquaintences that this misplacement was done on purpose.  Please read on as if nothing had been amiss.  I will go and flog myself.

So, the other evening Sonny Boy and the Mrs. took me to a movie.  It was actually a belated birthday gift from the Mrs. that involves a long and somewhat ugly story where the newspaper printed lies (lies, I tell you) about what movies were where on the day -- much closer to my birthday -- that we tried to see the movie.

But once again . . . I digress.

You probably don't need a clue to let you know which movie we saw (at the Dollar Theatre) but suffice it to say that it was a walk down memory lane (aka "Larkspur Lane") and was an absolute treat despite the fact that my feet stuck to the floor of said theatre.

When my girls were little I bought the whole set of N.D. books at a yardsale and sometime years later got rid of all of them but a few.  The minute I got home from the movie, I opened up the aforementioned book and settled in for the night, missing only some of  . . . the Drew family housekeeper's . . . delicious hot baked cookies.  Which brings me to the point of my post.  (Woohoo, there is one!)

In the spirit of mysteries, secrets and clues, I am offering a quiz to test your knowledge of the titian-haired girl and her cohorts.  If there is a clear winner, I will offer a prize of one of my precious remaining books.  So, strap on your magnifying glass, it's going to be a haunting ride:

*1 What is the full name of the Drew family housekeeper? 

*2 What is the full name of Nancy's father?

*3 What word does Nancy use to describe her hobby/profession?

*4 What are the names of her two close friends?

4a:  Bonus points for last names.

4b:  Bonus point if you can tell me which one was "plump".

*5 What was the full name of Nancy's beau?

*6 What term did she use to refer to her car?

*7 Who was the author of the books?

7a: Bonus points if you can explain why this is a trick question.

*8 What kinds of shoes did Nancy wear?

*9 One of the books in the series was not a mystery.  What was it?

Hope you have as much fun with this as I did.  Oh, and by the way, Sonny Boy wants it to remain a secret that he ever went near that movie theatre with us.